in addition to the "fiscal cliff," treasury secretary timothy geithner warned congress that the u.s. is close to hitting its debt limit of $16.4 trillion. geithner saved the government will take steps to allow more burrough after december 31. danielle nottingham, cbs news, washington. >>> let's look now at the markets. stocks fell sharply by 55 and change. the drop is attributed to consumer confidence falling to the lowest level since august. >>> the storm that moved across the country pushing northeast through new england after plowing through 30 states dumping snow, sleet and spawning dozens of tornadoes. edward lawrence has the latest. >> reporter: the northeast is dig out from a giant storm that dumped more than a foot of snow in some places. >> it's the heaviest snow i can remember. it's shutting the machine down every time of you give it a little push. the ice just clogs it up. >> reporter: the storm started in california last weekend and crossed the country creating blizzards in the midwest and south. several people died in traffic accidents. and the roads remain dangerous for